Apple STEM Activities for Kids

I hate to admit it but I am in love with the Fall season and of course the endless apple STEM activities that go along with it! This season I am super excited that my new reader can read Ten Apples Up On Top to me! To celebrate I pulled together 10 apple STEM activities using real apples perfect for preschool, kindergarten, and first grade (which my son is heading into this year).

FUN FALL APPLE STEM ACTIVITIES

KIDS LOVE APPLES FOR FALL LEARNING!

I love using what I have around for great hands-on science and apples is what we definitely have! These activities work perfectly for early learning plus you can enjoy eating them too! Nothing wasted. I wanted to have fun with our activities but still be a bale to work on skills such as observation, problem solving, and critical thinking.

APPLE STEM ACTIVITIES

We attempted to stack apples like the animals in Ten Apples Up On Top, we attempted to balance apples and walk like the animals, and we built apple structures. The apple structure building activity was by far the easiest and my son figured if we bought 10 more apples could stack all ten if he used toothpicks or skewer sticks. I bet that would work but I am not ready to make applesauce yet {also great science}!

CHECK OUT ALL OUR FUN APPLE STEM ACTIVITIES WITH THE PHOTOS BELOW

*We worked on the balancing apples activity first since we needed whole apples!*

APPLE STEM ACTIVITY #1

BALANCING APPLES FOR APPLE STEM

One apple on top was enough for us! He attempted walking but it was tough. He determined the shape and weight and gravity were working against him.

Maybe a toothpick in each apple or a skewer! We are going to have to try that one! Problem solved.

Even though this is such simple activity it offers a chance for practicing critical thinking skills. Why can’t the apples be stacked easily? What is it about the apples? Is there a better apple to stack onto another apple? Lots of trial and error and trouble shooting happening. In the end he managed to stack four apples for a very short time. He determined he would need to pick out different shaped apples next time!

APPLE STEM ACTIVITY #2

BUILDING APPLE STRUCTURES FOR APPLE STEM

Chop up an apple and grab the toothpicks. What can you make? 3D or 2D shapes, a dome, a tower?

Building apple structures combines design, engineering, and fine motor skills! Plus you can eat it afterwards.

APPLE STEM ACTIVITY #3

Can you float an apple boat? Do apples float?

I casually asked my son if he thought an apple would sink or float? He said it will sink. He said we should test it.

An apple is buoyant! Do you know why? The apple has air inside and that air helps keep it from sinking totally. Apples are less dense than water. Check out our rainbow sugar water density science activity to learn more about density.

So now that we know an apple floats, can we build an apple boat to float? Will different size apple pieces float as well as others? Make your own sails with those toothpicks left over from the apple structure building activity!

Simple card stock paper sails. Will different shapes and sizes of sails influence how the apple piece floats? Our small apple piece was no match for the larger sail we cut for it, but the other large pieces faired well. Simple and creative apple STEM!

There you have it! Quick and fun ideas with real apples for Fall STEM.

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[…] Apple Boats STEM Challenge Study buoyancy with your bushel of apples this fall. Making apple boats are a great way to help your STEAM kids create their own floating boats and talk about what makes items buoyant in water. […]